Armor structures are intended to prevent penetration of projectiles into a protected area, such as a vehicle, by using protective panels. There are many possible considerations in the selection of armor structures, including weight, volume, cost, durability, ease of fabrication and ease of repair, and depending of the application in which the armor structure is to be used, one or more of these considerations may dominate. For example, in land vehicles, volume and weight may dominate, and in air vehicles, weight may dominate.
Traditionally, thick steel plates have been used for armoring vehicles. However, where weight and/or volume are of vital concern, a large volume of heavy metal is not ideal. In addition, where repetitive ammunition is likely, the armor structure needs to withstand degradation by initial projectiles such that subsequent projectiles will also be prevented from penetrating through the structure.
While there have been significant improvements made in armor structures by use of multi-layer armor, ceramic materials, and ballistic fibers, ammunition continues to increase in sophistication, thereby requiring further sophistication in armor structures. Most recently, armor piercing (AP) ammunition is a projectile of choice, particularly outside the United States. AP ammunition was designed to penetrate thinner, lightweight armor structures, thereby at least partially thwarting attempts to decrease weight, volume and cost with lighter, thinner armor structures.
There is a thus a need for low volume, low weight armor structures that resist penetration by AP ammunition and that are suitable for vehicle applications.